One massive, dare I say life-changing thing I learned from this rocket project is the power of the pocket clearing toolpath, and except in rare cases, I think it's greatly superior to the adaptive clearing. Saying this is going against the grain a bit and maybe a bit controversial, but hear me out.
Clearing large shallow areas with an adaptive clearing toolpath doesn't make sense when it's completely enclosed; the calculated feed to get the same bite for each cut is definitely ideal, but in most cases, adapting from a pocket will often have equal run time going to and from the cuts, thus spending 50% of the tool movement cutting the air. If time weren't a concern, then adaptive clearing would almost be the best case in every situation.
The major downside to the pocket clearing method is that you are typically putting the tool at odd loads, and in a lot of cases, you even slot the material you're cutting. Depending on how fast you have the machine running, it could chatter quite a bit, thus leaving a bad finish. But if you calculate your stepdowns to allow for slot clearing while running full speed, you don't have to worry about taking corners too fast. This may mean that to clear a deeper pocket, it takes multiple roughing stepdowns, but it would save quite a bit of time in the long run.
Even better than the time-saving aspect of pocket clearing is how versatile it is in getting into tight spaces. Adaptive clearing won't typically let you cut a groove that isn't at least double the tool diameter, or it will take a million small steps in a circular motion down the path. I wasn't really aware that the Pocket clearing method actually allows you to take slots with minimal clearance side to side. This, coupled with the smaller stepdowns, allows for some fantastic speeds while producing a great looking part!
For this project I was able to contour the part, avoiding the pins that keep it in place, and simultaneously finish both walls all with the 3D pocket clearing toolpath. It is truly amazing and will probably be my most used toolpath